According to researchers, babies with dummies (paficiers) have a much lower risk of dying in their sleep (cot death) – in fact, the risk is lowered by 90%. The investigators suggest that the dummy may help the baby by keeping the bedclothes from smothering his/her mouth and nose area.
Recently, the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) has advised parents to use pacifiers when putting their babies down to sleep (or for a nap).
You can read about this study in the British Medical Journal.
The study was carried out by researchers at Kaiser Permanente, California and the NIH (USA). A total of 497 mothers were interviewed. 185 had lost their babies to cot death, 312 had not.
Team leader, Dr. De-Kun Li, said “Use of a dummy is associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Our results also provide some evidence that use of a dummy may reduce the impact of other risk factors for SIDS, especially those related to adverse sleep conditions.”
Note:
The terms below are familiar throughout the English speaking world (USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, N Zealand, South Africa). However, it is more common for people in the
UK/Ireland to say Dummy
while people in North America say Pacifier.
It is also more common for people in the
UK/Ireland to say Cot Death
while people in North America say SID (Sudden Infant Death) .
Many terms for baby things differ on either side of the Atlantic (UK/Ireland – Nappy. USA/Canada – Diaper).
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today